WEC veteran Erik Koch made it back-to-back wins in the UFC Saturday, outpointing The Ultimate Fighter 12 winner Jonathan Brookins in an evenly-fought matchup at UFC Fight Night 25 in New Orleans, La.
A student of Duke Roufus, Koch was the better standup artist with among his highlights, solid lefts, punishing leg kicks and a left high kick. Coming off two straight Knockout of the Night awards (one was in the WEC), the 22-year-old Koch wasn’t able to put together explosive performances of the past, but scored enough on the feet to sway the judges in his favor 30-27, 29-28 and 30-27. According to FightMetic, Koch outlanded Brookins in total strikes 86 to 29.
The fight itself wasn’t pretty, as Brookins tried to take Koch out of his striking game by constantly shooting for takedowns and dirty-boxing. Brookins was only successful on one takedown which he held for just a mere 30 seconds.
Koch (13-1), who now carries a four-fight win streak, made his UFC debut in March with a knockout over Raphael Assuncao.
Brookins (12-4) of Gracie Barra Orlando was fighting for the first time since beating Michael Johnson last December at the TUF 12 finale.